children hit hardest by the storm are getting a heart-warming surprise this time of christmas and, dan bowens has more from our affiliate station in new york city. >> reporter: an unexpected christmas surprise for the children of ps253 in the rockaways. >> shout it out... ♪ >> reporter: the holiday joy is deeply appreciated by the students, many with families still dealing with the aftermath of hurricane sandy. >> a lot of them have been going through a lot of difficulty, the past few weeks. trying to recover, and, you know, some apartments not having lights on. >> reporter: state senator malcolm smith playing the role of the santa and since the stormed worked with hot 97 identifying families in need. >> alisyn: this is overwhelming, i mean, your heart gets full and, a young man... santa, santa! >> reporter: helping collect most of gifts... we told you about this good samaritan and her friend last month and started their drive after noticing children's toys among the debris of the super storm. >> we are able to actually have 600 toys, donated, from different people, all over the coun